All Agog about Gog Magog

Oh dear! We slept in again, keeping our hosts waiting for breakfast. We headed to the Wandlebury Country Space where there is an Iron Age hill fort and ring ditch in 140 acres of parkland.

There were some opportunities to lie down on the ground (and duck poop) next to a pond to check out their aquatic plants! Elodea, Nuphar, Myriophyllum, Ceratophyllum and some new ones too.

Would you believe it, I encountered these 2 sketchy guys again - this time they pretended to be interested in the flowers

The wildflowers and meadows were so calming and serene to look at - the wheat moving in the wind was like watching water flow in a lake.

Suddenly it was after 2PM, so we stopped at the Gog Farm Shop in Gog Magog Hills (a place name!) to have a bite to eat - delightful, basic, no airs. I caught those 2 guys skulking around here as well.

Their butchery had some pretty highly priced selections of beef that looked yummy.

They have loons here without an 'N' (bathrooms).

Part 2, an evening in Cambridge, to follow 

Wetlands Immersion

After a disturbed night of Muntjac barking, we emerged bleary eyed, but ready for another wetland adventure. The weather looked okay-ish, with "only" a 25% chance of rain as we headed for Ouse (pronounced ooze) Fen, about 30 minutes away in Over (yes, that's the town name).

We hadn't got far along the trail when it started raining, and this being an open wetland, there were few trees within walking distance to give us cover, so we crouched on gravel behind a wooden barrier at the lookout point. 

It wasn't stopping, and we were getting soaked (our fault for not bringing rain gear), so we ran back to the car to sit it out there. When it abated and we'd steamed up the windows, we set off again, enjoying 'gripping' new bird species along the way.

I could swear these 2 guys were following me around - they keep popping up wherever I go!

There was so much activity, both visually and auditorily, and even though it rained on us a few more times, we knew we'd dry off quickly in the wind each time the rain paused for a bit (as it kept doing). This was a truly immersive wetlands experience. I loved hearing the cuckoos - it seemed as if there were cuckoo clocks in the trees bordering the swamp. Such a gorgeous setting!

Lunchtime was dry! Some aquatic samples joined us at the table.

At our next stop, Kingfishers Bridge in Wicken, we had the most spectacular views EVER of a barn owl hunting in the daylight, flitting and diving into the grasses around us for at least 20 minutes - what a supremely special experience!

Comparative Nostalgia

    

Childhood friends in 2015 and 2025

After spending so much time reminiscing last night, it was obvious that some details of recollections and experiences differ. But these at least have been captured in time - no changing of memories each time we recall and re-store them - these are frozen in time, as is.

Dale and Craig in 2015, 2016 and 2025

Dale and I in 2016 and 2025

  

Way less pretending to be 'elderly' this time around

Rain and Roundabouts

After negotiating a series of traffic roundabouts along the route (par for the course in England), we arrived at the Fulbourn Fen Nature Reserve to see the orchids in bloom.

What an amazing sight, that only really manifests after you've been walking nonchalantly through buttercups for a while, only to look more closely and find out the orchids are everywhere. How on earth could one miss these exquisite beauties?

I couldn't resist taking a picture of this tree - I don't think I have to say exactly what I thought of when I saw it, as I'm sure it's blatantly obvious, but then it could just be my weird imagination. Maybe I'm just sick ... What do you see? 

The onset of rain coincided pretty closely with our predetermined departure time when we had to head to The Bridge pub in Cambridge for lunch. Their accommodations for my soy allergy were much appreciated - our server said she'd bring me an allergy tablet, which made us laugh as we realized she meant the special allergen menu on a Tablet, not a tablet you swallow. I had a most delicious meal that was followed by a sumptuous dessert - sticky toffee pudding with clotted cream ice cream (must be my new fave dessert). Man! I wish I could have a lot more of that. My main dish came with chips and onion rings - this is how servings ought to be: 3 onion rings, not a plateful, and about a handful of chips.

Before returning home, CHT stopped to show us the British experience of a garden center - that was the first time I think I've ever seen the British out-Americanize commercial America - chairs, clothes, candles, BBQs, pies, shoes, children's toys as well as all plant varieties and accessories imaginable qualified as gardening material.

Back home, we waited till the rain stopped before going on an evening stroll - we saw a muntjac (barking deer), and stopped in on an old church.

A superb dinner of special cheeses, cold cuts and sides rounded off a lovely day as we sat round the table sharing childhood memories. 

Fen Drayton

We set off for Fen Drayton Lakes Reserve, run by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) with a packed lunch and water so we could stay indefinitely (i.e. a long as the weather held).

What an amazing restoration of habitat has been achieved here - this area was once a gravel pit/quarry and is now a haven for plants, birds and other wildlife, even humans! Bird nerds were out in full force:

Of course, a number of investigations were made of the aquatic plants too

Photo: D Schultz 

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Photo: C Hilton-Taylor 

We discovered that white Crocs come in handy when you don't have a frisbee to float plants in for identification.

I know this has been a photo dump of a post, but there was so much beauty to be seen, so here are a few more! 

A magnificent place to visit!